TPPF Releases Spotlight Paper on

AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released a paper by Center for Fiscal Policy Director Talmadge Heflin and Economist Dr. Vance Ginn on Article III, which includes education in Texas’ state budget. The paper, Texas Budget Trends in Article III, is the third of six in a series that examines trends in each article of the Texas budget.

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“Education is an integral part of Texas’ two-year budget, as education functions are appropriated the largest amount of taxpayer dollars,” said Heflin. “The 2016-17 budget appropriates $78.6 billion to Article III, an increase of $3.9 billion from the previous budget’s expected expenditures. This increase is dominated by a $2.4 billion rise in K-12 funding to $58.6 billion and the rest goes to higher education.”

“The 2016-17 budget expands Article III funds for education, which includes K-12 and higher education, by 59 percent compared with only a 55 percent increase in population growth plus inflation since the 2004-05 budget,” said Ginn. “This excessive budget trend indicates individual functions that grow by more than this key metric deserve scrutiny each session to manage growth in the total budget.”

The Honorable Talmadge Heflin is Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin. In the 78th Session, Heflin served as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and navigated a $10 billion state budget shortfall through targeted spending cuts that allowed Texans to avoid a tax increase.

Vance Ginn, Ph.D., is an Economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.